Dart playing has reached record popularity levels thanks in large part to the introduction of soft-tipped darts and electronic dart targets such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,251 to R. Jones et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,618 to M. Tillery et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,155 to M. Tillery et al. Dart players are becoming increasingly more skilled, and many leagues and tournaments are conducted throughout the world.
Nevertheless, there is a continuing desire on the part of dart players for new, more challenging, and more interesting dart games. Manufacturers also continue to seek dart games which are susceptible to commercial use in arcades, carnivals, and the like, and they have a continuing need to generate player excitement and interest at dart tournaments, trade shows, and other events at which they promote their dart related products. The subject invention satisfies those seemingly unrelated needs by providing a novel rotating dart game apparatus as described further below.
Various dart game machines have been proposed in which a rotating dart board is used, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,471 to M. Lee, U.S. Pat. No. 2,165,147 to L. Moss, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,077,001 to L. Moss et al. Those games, however, all utilize a single dart board which rotates about the central axis of the dart board. The dart board has no translational movement, and thus, the challenge of hitting the board is limited. Moreover, those dart game machines are poorly suited for commercial or promotional use. They are relatively small and inconspicuous and, therefore, do not generate the visual excitement necessary to call attention to themselves or to a particular location.
Those prior art games also utilize steel-tipped darts, and thus, present the hazards associated with steel-tipped darts. They also generally have no means for collecting errant darts. Some have a dart board which is mounted in a panel made of wood or similar penetrable material into which errant darts will embed, but errant darts then must be physically removed one by one from the panel, and the panel itself must be replaced periodically.
It is an object of the subject invention, therefore, to provide dart games which present a new, interesting, and challenging experience for dart players of all levels.
It also is an object of the subject invention to provide dart games which are capable of generating more visual excitement and are more suited to promotional and commercial use.
Another object is to provide such dart games which utilize soft-tipped darts.
Yet another object of the subject invention is to provide dart games which have means for collecting errant darts.
A further object is to provide dart games wherein all of the above advantages are realized.
Those and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following description and upon reference to the drawings.